Loose Women: Dr Hilary discusses how to live longer

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Following a Mediterranean-style diet brings myriad health benefits, many of which are linked to the heart. The diet incorporates the traditional healthy living habits of people from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including France, Greece, Italy and Spain. Many studies enumerate the health benefits of following a Mediterranean-style diet but one published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), zeroed in on the specific components.

Researchers focussed on three rural Greek villages, the data from which were collected as part of an international cross-cultural study of food habits in later life.

Researchers recorded the dietary habits over a period of one year of 91 men and 91 women aged 70-years-old and older who lived in three Greek villages.

To gather data on the dietary habits, they used a validated semi-quantitative questionnaire on food frequency.

The researchers also established whether the subjects were current smokers (including the few who had stopped smoking within five years) or nonsmokers (including the few who had not smoked for more than five years).

To conduct their analysis, the frequency of consumption of different food items was quantified approximately in terms of the number of times a month the food was consumed.

The researchers monitored how reasonably the participants scored in terms of eight component characteristics of the diet.

These were:

• High monounsaturated fat intake
• Moderate alcohol consumption (there were no men who drank more than seven glasses of wine a day and no women who drank more than two glasses of wine a day so that no study subject could be considered a heavy drinker)
• High consumption of legumes
• High consumption of cereals (including bread and potatoes)
• High consumption of fruits
• High consumption of vegetables
• Low consumption of meat and meat products
• Low consumption of milk and dairy products.

As the study progressed, only 34 subjects were found to have two or fewer of the eight desirable dietary components, whereas 104 subjects were found to have four or more of the eight desirable components.

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This was a reasonable pattern given the attachment of elderly rural Greeks to their traditional diet, the researchers wrote.

According to the researchers, the overall score on the diet had a “substantial and significant effect” on survival.

On the basis of the eight component characteristics of the traditional diet, there was an associated significant 17 percent reduction in overall mortality, they found.

However, the overall dietary pattern is more important for health and longevity than individual nutritional components, they added.

How to follow a Mediterranean-style diet

The Mediterranean diet varies by country and region, so it has a range of definitions.

In general, it’s high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, beans, cereals, grains, fish, and unsaturated fats such as olive oil.

It usually includes a low intake of meat and dairy foods.

The Mediterranean diet is very similar to the government’s healthy eating advice, which is set out in the Eatwell Guide.

The guide shows what foods are needed for a healthy, balanced diet and how much you should eat of each food group.

The guide says to:

• Eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
• Base your meals on starchy foods such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta – choose wholegrain versions where possible
• Eat some beans or pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including two portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) – choose lower-fat and lower-sugar options
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
• Drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day
• If consuming foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt or sugar, have them less often and in small amounts – find out more about reducing sugar in your diet.

According to the guide, you do not need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get it right over the course of a day or even a week.

To maximise the benefits of the dietary pattern, you should also engage in regular physical exercise.

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